Current:Home > StocksHere's what happened on Day 5 of the U.N.'s COP27 climate talks -DataFinance
Here's what happened on Day 5 of the U.N.'s COP27 climate talks
View
Date:2025-04-13 03:38:46
The war in Ukraine is driving a new push for fossil fuels, putting climate goals at risk
With the war in Ukraine disrupting natural supplies to Europe, many countries have been scrambling to replace gas exports coming from Russia, often from nations much farther away. Those gas supplies are super-cooled into a liquid that can be loaded onto tanker ships. The tankers dock in the importing countries at huge facilities that turn their cargo into gas again to send through pipelines.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, 26 of these massive facilities have been announced in the European Union, according to a new report from Climate Action Tracker, a climate think tank,.
Extracting more natural gas to offset the losses from Russia could lock in fossil fuel use for decades. If the proposed terminals and others under construction now around the world come online, they could more than double the emissions from natural gas by 2030, according to the report. That could jeopardize any commitments that governments make in the COP27 negotiations to rein in the pollution driving global warming.
To keep the world's goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach, there should be no investment in new fossil fuel supplies, the International Energy Agency said.
Members of Congress start to arrive
Nancy Pelosi arrived in Egypt with a delegation of 13 other House Democrats, including the current chairs of multiple committees that work on climate policy.
A delegation of Congressional Republicans are enroute to the talks as well.
Congress passed a massive spending bill that puts more than $1.2 trillion toward infrastructure, including rebuilding roads and bridges to be more resilient to climate change, putting more electric vehicles on the road, upgrading public transit and expanding clean sources of electricity.
But control of Congress is still up in the air after Tuesday's election, and the future of U.S. spending on climate change also hangs in the balance. Among other policies, Republican lawmakers have argued against government funding of renewable energy, and in favor of investments in natural gas and other fossil fuels.
Scientists say reliance on fossil fuels needs to plummet immediately in order to avoid catastrophic global warming later this century.
White House calls for federal contractors to disclose climate information
The Biden administration wants big federal contractors to publicly disclose information about their greenhouse gas emissions and the financial risks they face from climate change, and to set targets for cutting emissions.
The U.S. government is the world's largest buyer of goods and services, the White House said, and the proposed rule would make federal supply chains more efficient and resilient to the impacts of global warming.
"Suppliers understand that you cannot manage what you don't measure — tracking emissions and setting and meeting targets can increase resilience and reduce costs," the White House said in a statement.
The administration made the announcement a day before President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak at the United Nations' annual climate conference in Egypt.
Under the proposed rule, the largest federal contractors — those with annual contracts of more than $50 million — would have to disclose emissions from their own operations and from the energy they buy, as well as certain emissions from their customers and suppliers. They would also have to provide information about their climate-related financial risks, and set science-based targets for cutting emissions.
Companies with annual contracts of $7.5 million to $50 million would only have to provide information about the emissions from their own operations and from their energy purchases. Companies with smaller contracts would be exempt.
"With this proposed rule, the Administration is providing a valuable model for other stakeholders as it becomes increasingly important for governments and corporations to provide visibility into their climate risks and resilience across their supply chains," Pankaj Bhatia, global director of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, said in a statement.
However, the proposal is likely to face pushback, says Arthur Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
"The big question is how the administration will monitor and enforce these restrictions," Wheaton said in a statement.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed its own rule to require companies to disclose information about climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions. That proposal has faced fierce corporate opposition.
Climate news from the actor formerly known as Rainn Wilson
Actor Rainn Wilson, who is most famous for his role as Dwight Schrute in the U.S. version of the television show The Office, says he has changed his name.
He says he now goes by Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson.
In a video, Wilson says his goal is to draw attention to the effects of climate change in the Arctic. Indeed, more variable and extreme rain and heat waves are wreaking havoc in the Arctic, where temperatures are rising about four times faster than the global average.
Wilson also suggested new climate-related names for other celebrities, such as:
- Cardi the Arctic B. Melting
- Jack Black Carbon Is Killing Us
- Ty-phoons Are Increasing Burrell
- Amy Poehler Bears Are Endangered
- Harrison Why Not Drive an Electric Ford
veryGood! (37545)
Related
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- 'Claim to Fame' castoff Hugo talks grandpa Jimmy Carter's health and dating a castmate
- Month-old walrus rescued 4 miles inland: Watch him get 'round-the-clock' care and cuddles
- Here's the truth about taking antibiotics and how they work
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Possible human limb found floating in water off Staten Island
- Inside Sandra Bullock and Bryan Randall's Private Love Story
- Cha Cha Slide Creator DJ Casper Dead at 58 After Cancer Battle
- Average rate on 30
- 'Bachelor' stars Kaitlyn Bristowe, Jason Tartick end their engagement: 'It's heartbreaking'
Ranking
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Back-to-school shopping could cost families a record amount this year. Here's how to save.
- Georgia fires football staffer who survived fatal crash, less than a month after lawsuit
- Once Colombia’s most-wanted drug lord, the kingpin known as Otoniel faces sentencing in US
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Justin Timberlake Makes an Unexpected Surprise During Jessica Biel’s Grueling Ab Workout
- Urgent effort underway to save coral reefs from rising ocean temperatures off Florida Keys
- Man suspected in 2 weekend killings dies in police shooting
Recommendation
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
Elon Musk says his fight against Mark Zuckerberg will stream on X — but Zuck claps back
Trump's attorneys argue for narrower protective order in 2020 election case
Hi, I'm Maisie! Watch this adorable toddler greeting some household ants
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
Pope Francis restates church is for everyone, including LGBTQ+ people
4 great ways to celebrate National Sisters Day
Mexico finds 491 migrants in vacant lot en route to U.S. — and 277 of them are children